Scituate Education Foundation hosts event for Scituate children

As they await the start of preschool, Scituate’s youngest residents can make new friends and have some fun while exploring different aspects of the community through the upcoming event, Passport Days.

Scituate’s youngest residents can make new friends and have some fun while exploring different aspects of the community through the upcoming event, Passport Days.

A pilot program for the newly formed Scituate Education Foundation, Passport Days is scheduled Wednesday, Sept. 7 through Friday, Sept. 9.

“We believe that the pursuit of learning and fostering curiosity is an important part of life’s journey,” said Gabrielle Svenning, communications chairman on the Scituate Education Foundation Board of Directors. “With Passport Days, our young citizens can begin that journey right here in Scituate. This is meant to encourage community pride and engagement by promoting patronage of local businesses and serving up fun activities for all ages.”

Emily Mathews, an educator, parent and resident of Scituate, said she jumped at the chance to volunteer with the education foundation. She came up with the idea of Passport Days after education foundation vice president Katina Bentley approached her about an event that would focus on residents age 5 and younger.

“Once the K-12 students return to school most Scituate preschoolers have another week before their school year starts,” Mathews said. “Katina saw this as an opportunity to provide our littlest residents and their parents with an exclusive education foundation event that week.”

Reminded of the vision of the foundation to benefit the whole community, Mathews said it seemed natural to choose an active event that incorporated local businesses and organizations in a ‘tour’ of Scituate.

“Our primary goal with this event is to bring people together,” Mathews said. “My hope is that happens as parents explore the various sites, make new friends along the way, and discover the wide variety of programs and classes our town has to offer.”

Also planned is a Popsicles and Pizza Party at noon on Friday, Sept. 9, at the Purple Dragon Playground.

Participating businesses that children will get the chance to know during Passport Days include Candlewood Kids, Every Girl, Funtastics, Handprints & Balloons at Harbor Light Toy, Kjeld Mahoney, My Gym – Cohasset, Restaurant Oro, Scituate Animal Shelter and Viv's Give. Participating town departments include the Council on Aging, the Scituate Recreation Department and the Scituate Town Library.

“I am passionate about service, and I think it can start at a young age,” she said. “Having the Scituate Animal Shelter offer tours to the children, bake cookies for the Council on Aging, or make a donation to Viv's Give are all small but powerful ways our children can see the impact giving back can have on a community. I passionately believe it takes a village to educate and strengthen a community, and that doesn't stop after high school graduation.”

Participants log onto the website (http://www.scituateeducationfoundation.org/passportwelcome) and complete a registration form. Once the form is complete there is the option to print out the ‘passport,’ which lists all the activities, including dates and times, that participants can check off as they complete each one. There is no fee to participate in Passport Days.

The event is one way to help the community get to know the Scituate Education Foundation and its commitment to promoting a community-wide culture of lifelong learning in Scituate.

“It will accomplish this by funding proposals submitted by teachers, administrators and educationally-focused community organizations that emphasize collaboration, creative problem solving and other teaching approaches that go beyond the typical classroom experience,” Svenning said. “Core to our mission is the belief that education doesn’t start and end with public school K-12 that learning is a lifelong endeavor.”

As part of her work with Friends of Scituate’s Future, Svenning explained the foundation’s founder and president, Jennifer Morrison, met with many different local groups including the Scituate Education Alliance, Scituate Public Schools, other educational nonprofits, and foundations from surrounding communities to talk about the educational needs of Scituate beyond the brick and mortar.

“Inspired by those conversations and by the newfound knowledge that Scituate was one of, if not the only town on the South Shore without an education foundation, our leadership team arrived at the concept for an organization that promoted lifelong learning by offering grant opportunities to both school and community groups,” she said.

Mathews noticed the opportunities communities like Duxbury, Hingham and Marshfield have as a result of their education foundations.

“My youngest is on the path to spend until 2030 in Scituate Public Schools," she said. "What better way to influence and support his education than work with the Scituate Education Foundation?”

As a mother of a curious and busy 6 year-old boy, Svenning said she can speak to the need for cost-effective and fun activities to fill up free time.

“I grew up in Scituate and have a lot of happy childhood memories of making new friends and learning new things,” she said. “I credit much of my success in adult life to this happy foundation and to the fact that my family encouraged me to be a part of my community from an early age.”